In a recent post by Barrett Lane, a blogger for Yipit, he looks at considerations for businesses who are contemplating running an online daily deal. We also found a post by Jim Moran, co-founder of Yipit, which sheds some interesting light on the psychology of persuasion and what motivates individuals to act on a purchase.

Last but not least, a discussion of one day a deal offers wouldn’t be complete without looking at how engaged a business is in social networking.

Factors for Businesses Considering Online Daily Deals
Barrett suggests five things you should know if you’re interested in learning how your business can cash in on the daily deal craze:
1. Evaluate the best day of the week
2. Pick the deal service that delivers the right volume for your business
3. Look for chances to up-sell your higher end product
4. Find your niche site e.g. Groupon, LivingSocial, Village Vines, BlackboardEats, etc.
5. Encourage customers who like deals to sign up for your mailing list, follow on twitter, Facebook and check in via Foursquare as a way to get additional discounts.

What Motivates Individuals to Act on a Purchase?
Jim Moran, co-founder of Yipit, referenced Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, a book by Robert Cialdini in his post. Ciadlini suggests that five factors motivate individuals to act on an opportunity:
1. Scarcity-Is the opportunity available for a limited time
2. Social proof-are others purchasing the deal
3. Commitment-is the decision consistent with a choice the individual has made in the past
4. Liking-does the individual know and like the purveyor
5. Authority-does the source hold sway.

Social Networking Engagement
As Barrett suggests customers should be encouraged to follow-up and sign-up after purchasing an online deal. The rapid proliferation of companies flocking to one deal a day websites makes us curious about how well the business is doing with social networking sites. We suggest the following:
1. Social Networking for the Long Haul-Businesses should be in social networking for the long haul e.g. not just the weeks before the deal and the immediate weeks which follow
2. Offer Compelling Content-Along with follow-up opportunities for additional discounts, offer compelling content. People don’t always want to be sold to. Constantly coming at them with another way to spend money may be off putting. Instead if you’re a day spa who offered a deal about a facial, offer content about tips for cleansing the skin, staying hydrated during the summer, how to maintain healthy skin.
3. Experiment and Assess Social Networks: Find out which network works best with your followers. Are they more inclined to read your blog, follow you on twitter, read your facebook updates, subscribe to an email newsletter? If you don’t know, you can ask them in a quick survey. Most important, offer different types of content in the different channels. Re-purposed content should offer another slant or an expanded discussion. Don’t look the same everywhere you are–your users will become bored and move on.

What factors would you add for businesses to consider about online daily deals?

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